Good durable comfortable shoes

17 posts in this topic

I have had several pair from different companies and they all are either uncomfortable after a few hours or they slip and slide on everything you walk on. I put insoles in them and they still hurt. The leather soles even after being scored still slip even if i'm walking on grip tape. so far the only shoes I have liked are the ones I made myself out of an old pair of square toed hush puppies. All the ones I find are always black and they always have the flaps for buckles. Does anyone make a pair of comfortable brown pair of rough side out period shoes fitted for being laced? I'm not a shoemaker so please don't say "Make a pair"

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Interests:Pirates, history, anthing nautical, salt water fish tanks, the Caribbean and South Pacific, a good barbecue and a cold Sam Adams, travel, airplanes, rockabilly, Grand Mariner on the rocks, fabulous sunsets accompanied by a warm breeze and good friends.
Diverse enough?
I's love to learn to sail and also surf. I grew up around the waters of LI. Cept for 2 yrs land lubbin in AZ. The pirate thing? When I was 6, I stole my brother's halloween tricorn pirate hat and proceeded to wear it for three months till it ripped and the string fell off. Needless to say the rest is history!

there be a post later on in this section on shoes from Fugawee ye might look at. Also in Captain Twill there's a whole discussion about the shoe/boot thing. I wondered too about slipping with shoes, having gone flying many times on the ice/snow or rainy sidewalk in leather loafers. Good lucke!

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I've never had a problem with slippage. I just scrape the hell out of them on our pebble steps out front. As far as form fitting them, get some shoe stretch (Walmart and others have it in the shoe section. I spray the entire inside of the shoe with it and then wear them for several hours. They form perfectly to your feet. I got a new pair of shoes last week just before Halloween and they were horribly uncomfortable until I sprayed them - then they were like I had had them for 20 years.

I just got back from an event at which I wore the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned, bar none. I have horrible feet and I'm sore after a day of walking around in even the most comfortable sneakers. But these shoes made my feet feel like I wasn't standing at all. It was amazing.

I got them in England at the Living History Fayre in Warwick a few weeks ago. A gentleman named Andy Burke made them:

As well as selling impressive looking custom made hats, If you click on the "Footwear" link on the left hand side of the page, you will see that he produces quite nice looking 18th Century Buckle Shoes at $100 per pair.

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Interests:I *used* to be an environmental scientist, until I married a DoDDs teacher in 1997. Since then, I have been living in, and traveling around, Europe (First the UK, now Germany).

My hobbies are all the "usual suspects" for those interested in re-enacting and Golden Age of Piracy stuff.... but I have drifted away from the pirate scene as my location and young family don't allow for any more than "virtual" pirate participation. Besides Piracy, I am into Reverend Guitars and Vintage Corvettes.

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The Fugawee website is out of action at the moment, but I did find a site selling Fugawee shoes, and on comparison with the photograph, These are not Fugawee, for example, Fugawee mens shoes have a longer tongue.

I know that these are not perfect for GAoP, but they are a lot better than some of the shoes that you see pirate re-enactors wearing. (Heck, at least they aren't bucket boots!) They have square toes, and the latch could be cut down to accomodate a period buckle.

In my opinion, these are what I call, "Within Tolerence", there is nothing obviously wrong with them, they would not catch the eye as incorrect to someone standing ten feet away.

As well as selling impressive looking custom made hats, If you click on the "Footwear" link on the left hand side of the page, you will see that he produces quite nice looking 18th Century Buckle Shoes at $100 per pair.

They are supplied by Hightower Crafts, who produce kit for live action roleplay, so Authenticity is not a high priorety for them, but I think that if you did a bit of work on the latchets, and replaced the buckles with an authentic pair, they wouldn't look half bad.

As well as selling impressive looking custom made hats, If you click on the "Footwear" link on the left hand side of the page, you will see that he produces quite nice looking 18th Century Buckle Shoes at $100 per pair.

Yes Dirty Billy's hats are the very best, BUT if you plan to order one, make sure you get your order in well in advance of when you need it... there is always a wait but it is well worth it in the end...